June 3 - the results

The fourth week went fine. i studied for Physics plus i had lots of sleep so i was able to think fast and finish the test early even if it was moderately hard.

So here's a conclusion to my behavior modification program.

let me just summarize how my program goes:

goal: to be able to remember scheduled tasks for the whole week without using a planner.
positive reinforcement: when i successfully remembered and done a tasks at its scheduled time and date, i will earn 30 mins of PSP playing time.
negative reinforcement: when i dont remember the tasks i have to do, the stress of hurriedly finishing these tasks and the lack of sleep thereof is what i will suffer.
Changes made:
at first i awarded myself 1 hour psp playing time but it was too much, so i reduced it to 30 mins.

What worked?
I believe my whole program worked for me although at first it was hard and forgetting a task is too costly, i was only able to turn that consequence into a motivation to modify my behavior. By using classical conditioning, i was able to overpower my forgetfulness in an unconscious way by using stress as a negative reinforcement.

What didn't work?
I believe that my negative reinforcement was much stronger than my positive reinforcement. in the whole program, i did not find my self feeling that i wish i had more psp time when i didn't earn any psp time because when i didn't earn psp time -- or in other words, failed to remember a task -- i am too busy cramming up for that task that i dont find a space in my mind to wish for psp time. I'm not even persevering to remember tasks because of the psp time im going to earn because of it, I was only persevering to remember tasks because i don't want to end up stressed and tired.
I couldn't say that my positive reinforcement did not work at all. it just wasn't as strong as my negative reinforcement. Whenever i play my psp during the program, all i could think of is that i earned that fun im having with my psp without having to worry that i might be eating up some time that's supposed to be for another task.

Influence of Heightened Awareness
Heightened awareness, theoretically, should have a big influence in my program because this awareness could help me remember tasks. At first this heightened awareness helped me remember tasks. That's why in the first day of my program i have perfected my schedule. But, after the first week, i was able to just go on my program without worrying about it. I just do what i remembered to do and record the times i did them and by the end of the day, i check them if i did them right. If this heightened awareness influenced me, it could only influence me in a good way, which is by helping me remember.

I have three main results i got from my program:

Improved Self-Confidence and Less Stress
Because I know I could follow the schedule i set for myself at the correct times and days, i became less stressed and more confident about the day ahead of me. My worries about forgetting something is less bothersome now compared before when i was so worried that i might forget something I had to do that sometimes i actually forget a lot because of my worrying. With less worry, i became less stressed and thus, less tired.

More Productive and Creative in my Tasks
Because i have set enough time for my tasks (i.e. a project, test, or homework) I was able to add on some creativity to boost my grade. Also my productivity increased a great deal because i have more time in my hands. In addition, instead of the usual stress i feel when im doing these tasks, i'm having more fun and learning more from the school work i had to do. As a result, i get better grades than a crammed up work just because i was forgetful.

Improved time of sleep and health
By accident, I was able to observe my health during the course of time of my program. i wasn't been able to drink my vitamins for almost 3 weeks now because of the eating schedule changes in our house. Usually, when i fail to drink my vitamins for an entire week, i will surely have a cold after. But since, i had more sleep, less stress, and have been eating 3 meals a day, i haven't even felt the difference in my body to remember that i haven't been taking my vitamins!

The Possibility of the Changes to be Long Term
The behavior i modified in my program -- to be less forgetful -- has a high possibilty of being a long term change. After this program, why would i need to use my planner when i could remember my tasks? It is easy to continue my program because it's not much of a bother. In addition, the results weigh more than doing the program itself. actually, i am planning to continue with my program until remembering tasks for me could be second nature.

The most challenging part of this assignment is when i fail to remember tasks because not only i would be stressed and tired but my grade could suffer also. Nevertheless, this challenging aspect of my assignment is also the key to making it more effective. without this aspect of my program, the program wouldn't have worked.

I am glad to have participated in this assignment and to have reaped the results from this program.